Table 1.
Baseline parameters in 29 people with MASLD and the impact of a 12-week intervention with either lifestyle or GLP-1RA therapy with liraglutide.
| Lifestyle (n = 14) |
GLP-1RA, liraglutide (n = 15) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline | 12 weeks | Baseline | 12 weeks | |
| Demographics | ||||
| Age (years) | 48 ± 4 | 48 ± 4 | ||
| Sex (% male) | 50.0 | 53.3 | ||
| Weight, body composition and blood pressure | ||||
| Weight (kg) | 104.2 ± 5.8 | 99.5 ± 5.4§ | 106.9 ± 5.6 | 101.7 ± 5.4§ |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 36.4 ± 1.5 | 34.8 ± 1.4§ | 35.7 ± 1.7 | 33.9 ± 1.6§ |
| Body fat (%) | 45.0 ± 2.1 | 43.3 ± 2.2§ | 43.3 ± 2.5 | 41.9 ± 2.5§ |
| Total fat mass (kg) | 45.2 ± 3.4 | 41.9 ± 3.4§ | 45.3 ± 4.2 | 41.9 ± 4.0§ |
| Total lean mass (kg) | 54.7 ± 3.3 | 54.1 ± 3.1 | 57.6 ± 3.0 | 56.2 ± 3.0§ |
| Estimated visceral adipose mass (kg) | 2.4 ± 0.3 | 2.1 ± 0.2‡ | 2.4 ± 0.3 | 2.0 ± 0.3§ |
| Blood pressure (mmHg) systolic (S)/diastolic (D) | S: 136 ± 4 D: 80 ± 2 |
S: 123 ± 2§ D: 71 ± 2§ |
S: 133 ± 3 D: 83 ± 2 |
S: 126 ± 3‡ D: 79 ± 2∗ |
| Physical activity | ||||
| Physical activity (IPAQ), time sitting (h/day) | 7.9 ± 1.0 | 7.6 ± 1.2 | 6.5 ± 1.1 | 6.8 ± 1.2 |
| Physical activity (IPAQ), total weekly activity (h) | 12.2 ± 4.0 | 9.2 ± 2.5 | 15.3 ± 5.1 | 14.2 ± 4.9 |
| Fasting lipid profile | ||||
| Triglyceride (mmol/L) | 1.5 ± 0.2 | 1.3 ± 0.2 | 1.6 ± 0.2 | 1.2 ± 0.1‡ |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/L) | 5.0 ± 0.3 | 4.7 ± 0.2 | 4.1 ± 0.2∗ | 3.8 ± 0.2†,‡ |
| HDL cholesterol (mmol/L) | 1.3 ± 0.1 | 1.2 ± 0.1§ | 1.0 ± 0.05† | 1.0 ± 0.05∗ |
| non-HDL cholesterol (mmol/L) | 3.7 ± 0.2 | 3.5 ± 0.2 | 3.1 ± 0.2 | 2.8 ± 0.2∗,‡ |
| NEFA (μmol/L) | 517 ± 49 | 459 ± 43 | 521 ± 51 | 441 ± 41 |
| Insulin and glucose metabolism | ||||
| HbA1c (mmol/mol) | 37 ± 1 | 36 ± 1 | 39 ± 1 | 35 ± 1§ |
| Fasting glucose (mmol/l) | 4.9 ± 0.1 | 4.9 ± 0.1 | 5.0 ± 0.2 | 4.6 ± 0.1 |
| Number with impaired glucose tolerance (%) | 2 (13) | 0 | 3 (21) | 0 |
| Glucose AUC over 180 min OGTT (mmol/L.min) | 7.6 ± 0.5 | 7.4 ± 0.4 | 7.3 ± 0.4 | 6.0 ± 0.2†,§ |
| Fasting insulin (pmol/L) | 112 ± 18 | 91 ± 19‡ | 136 ± 24 | 125 ± 15 |
| Insulin AUC over 180 min OGTT (pmol/L.min) | 898 ± 111 | 815 ± 92 | 809 ± 104 | 795 ± 64 |
| HOMA-IR | 4.2 ± 0.8 | 3.3 ± 0.7‡ | 5.0 ± 0.8 | 4.3 ± 0.5 |
| Glucose oxidation (breath13CO2 AUC) over 180 min OGTT (mmol/kg lean mass) | 2.4 × 10-4 ± 2.0 × 10-5 | 2.3 × 10-4 ± 1.6 × -5 | 2.2 × 10-4 ± 1.6 × 10-5 | 2.1 × 10-4 ± 1.8 × 10-5 |
| Adipose tissue | ||||
| Subcutaneous microdialysis interstitial glucose AUC over 180 min OGTT (mmol/L.h)¶ | 11.7 ± 0.9 | 10.4 ± 1.3 | 12.0 ± 1.7 | 9.0 ± 1.4‡ |
| Subcutaneous microdialysis interstitial glycerol AUC over 180 min OGTT (μmol/L.h)¶ | 547 ± 66 | 573 ± 69 | 566 ± 71 | 507 ± 35 |
| ADIPO-IR (fasting NEFA × fasting insulin) (mmol/L.h × μmol/L.h) | 60.3 ± 13.6 | 46.1 ± 12.2 | 77.1 ± 17.5 | 55.5 ± 8.8 |
| Liver biochemistry | ||||
| ALT (IU/L) | 61 ± 8 | 47 ± 8§ | 58 ± 8 | 46 ± 6‡ |
| AST (IU/L) | 37 ± 4 | 32 ± 5 | 36 ± 3 | 31 ± 4 |
| Magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging | ||||
| MRS hepatic steatosis (%) | 21.1 ± 2.4 | 13.6 ± 2.1§ | 24.3 ± 2.3 | 18.1 ± 1.9§ |
| Intrahepatic iron (mg/g dry weight) | 1.2 ± 0.1 | 1.1 ± 0.1§ | 1.2 ± 0.1 | 1.2 ± 0.1 |
| Iron corrected T1 (cT1) (ms) | 861 ± 23 | 813 ± 23§ | 872 ± 29 | 827 ± 24§ |
| Non-invasive markers of liver fibrosis | ||||
| FIB-4 FIB-4 risk stratification; low/indeterminate/high (n) |
1.1 ± 0.2 10/4/0 |
1.1 ± 0.1 10/4/0 |
0.9 ± 0.1 12/3/0 |
0.9 ± 0.1 13/2/0 |
| NFS NFS risk stratification; low/indeterminate/high (n) |
-1.3 ± 0.3 6/8/0 |
-1.2 ± 0.3 7/7/0 |
-1.9 ± 0.4 10/5/0 |
-1.9 ± 0.3 9/6/0 |
| Hepatic DNL | ||||
| Fasting DNL (%) | 12.9 ± 1.9 | 10.7 ± 2.1 | 15.2 ± 2.5 | 9.7 ± 1.9‡ |
| DNL AUC over 180 min OGTT (%.min) | 13.0 ± 1.9 | 11.5 ± 1.9 | 14.4 ± 2.1 | 10.2 ± 1.8‡ |
Data presented are mean ± SEM unless otherwise stated.
ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; AUC, area under curve; DNL, de novo lipogenesis; FIB-4, fibrosis-4; GLP-1RA, glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist; HOMA-IR, homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance; IPAQ, International Physical Activity Questionnaire; MASLD, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease; MRS, magnetic resonance spectroscopy; NEFA, non-esterified fatty acid; NFS, NAFLD fibrosis score; OGTT, oral glucose tolerance test.
p <0.05.
p <0.01 lifestyle vs. GLP-1RA.
p <0.05.
p <0.01 baseline vs. 12 weeks within group, paired or unpaired t tests where appropriate.
Data from n = 10 (liraglutide) and n = 8 (lifestyle).